


Sisters

by FanficsbyVe



Category: Dark Souls III
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:04:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8397373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficsbyVe/pseuds/FanficsbyVe
Summary: Yuria is reminded of the past. Ashes of Ariandel spoilers. One-shot.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I just finished Ashes of Ariandel. It was a nice DLC, though a little short. I give it a solid 8 out of 10 for the final boss fight alone. So be forewarned, HEAVY SPOILERS. Also note that I used Yuria's dialogue if you follow her questline and go for the Usurp The Fire ending. If you don't, her response is a little more forthcoming but far less emotional.

Yuria is not one to ever look back.

How can she, really? In a world that’s doomed to repeat a cruel, everlasting cycle of fire and rebirth, those who break away cannot afford doubt. Humanity can’t break free without courage and will never make progress when dwelling on past mistakes.

She has led the Sable Church of Londor for most of her adult life. All that time, she has been looking for a Lord. Not one of Cinder, like the rest of a foolish and craven world, but one of Hollows. A soul strong enough to wrest the tyrannical fire from its wretched pedestal and bring about a new age.

Her plans are heretical in the eyes of many, but it matters not to her. At least she has a plan. A way of moving forward. A vision for a world that doesn’t always have to burn just because some manmade God designated it so.

None of this would have been possible had she not been bold or persevering. Had she not been willing to make sacrifices. Sometimes, the world had to be cleansed in blood to be transformed. Tears only drowned it. That knowledge drives her forward, each and every day, as she slowly works to bring her plans to fruition.

Yet when the Ashen One, her Lord of Hollows, returns to her with, she suddenly finds herself growing cold. She can sense on him a familiar thing, the presence she has not felt for a long time. Her breath grows heavy inside her helmet and she speaks before she can stop herself.

“Might that soul be…”

The Ashen One stares at her and she quickly recovers. “Nay. Nevermind.”

She swallows and she wants to curse when she feels her eyes sting somewhat. She knew this world was a cruel one, but this is an utterly tasteless jest. Is this how she has to see her sister again?

Elfriede, the girl born before her and Lilliane. The older sister, who watched over them and played with them. Who loved them and taught them alongside their parents, showing the Fire for the curse it truly was. With whom they founded the Sable Church, to watch over the forlorn Hollows.

Even to this day, Yuria doesn’t understand why she changed her mind. Why she no longer chose to embrace her curse but instead sought fire. She failed, not fit to be cinder and her sister, her clever and daring older sister, was reduced to mere ash. Ash that was now scared of both fire and dark, that fled to a painted world to forever linger in rot.

Now, those ashes will never burn again. If she is gone, so is Father Ariandel and his precious Painted World will soon be subject to fire. It is a bitter fate, even for an estranged loved one, but her grief is not something to share with a Lord.

“It belongs to a woman from Londor. To provide succour for the Lord of Hollows surely would bring her much honour.”

It’s a lie and she knows it. Elfriede didn’t want to die. Not by fire or hollowing or the sword. She wanted to live, even if it meant in a stagnant, crumbling world. To have met her fate at the hands of fellow Ash must have been a lonely and horrifying death.

An unpleasant pain settles in her stomach at that. Then and there, she wonders if her sister thought of her and Lilliane in her final moments. If she missed them, even in that painted world. She hopes she did. Estranged as they were, her heart has not entirely turned to stone yet and she wishes to honor her older sibling.

She turns to the Ashen One and smiles, even though he can’t see it. “In return, thou needst only do her a small kindness. Remember those who stayed by her to the end, in the shadows cast by fire…”

He looks at her and she wonders if he understands or even suspects. Nevertheless, he nods and after taking several purging stones from her, he leaves once more. She is once again alone, with Yoel’s body and her own thoughts.

She didn’t think she could still feel loss so profoundly, even now. To think she could still love those who had forsaken her. It’s a bitter pill to take, but it’s one she will swallow all the same. Denying horrid things never accomplished anything.

Under her breath, she mutters a prayer for her sister. She can only hope that the Ashen One uses her soul well. That it provides him with the strength to stop this dreaded curse and create a new, better world. Her death will not be in vain then and perhaps, wherever she is, she may have peace. 

Yuria never looks back, but she also never forgets.


End file.
